Emerging from the Time Chamber, Rhode's senses were immediately assaulted by the wave of malevolent ki. Seeing those familiar faces—the three pirates who had attacked his ship—and feeling the intensity of their power, he acted without hesitation. In a blur, their ship was a fireball and their technology was scrap. Stranded and isolated, these pirates were now trapped prey.
"You bastard! You're dead!" Simoreka roared, the reality of his crippled position dawning on him with searing clarity. But rage didn't override cunning. The speed and precision of the sabotage spoke volumes. This Saiyan was dangerous.
"Lads! Kill them!" he bellowed, not charging himself, but sending his horde of underlings forward as a living probe. Let them test the waters; he would deliver the killing blow once the enemy's limits were clear.
The less intelligent among his crew obliged with a mindless roar, surging towards Rhode and Aira.
"Hmph!" Aira's response was a disdainful snort. Her hand shot out, a simple, brutal punch that connected with the first blue-skinned pirate to reach her.
Pfft.
The pirate didn't scream; he simply disintegrated into a fine, wet mist and chunks of matter that painted the green grass in grotesque hues.
"AHHH!!" The sight froze the charging mob in their tracks, hot blood turning to ice water in their veins.
Swish!
Aira didn't pause. She became a blur of motion, diving into their midst. Every movement was economical, every strike terminal. Limbs flew, strange-colored blood—purples, blues, greens—arced through the air, and the symphony of terror and agony was punctuated by wet, crushing impacts.
"Too messy," Rhode commented mildly, frowning as he vaporized a pirate who stumbled too close with a casual ki blast, leaving not even a stain. Aira's method was effective but… inelegant. Her clean armor was already a gory mess.
Crunch. Splatter. Scream.
"This…" Simoreka's eye twitched violently as his cannon fodder was reduced to abstract art in mere seconds. His face darkened into a grim mask. These were his tools, his assets. He couldn't just watch them be erased.
"Yunba, keep an eye on the man! I'll handle the woman!" he spat through gritted teeth. He had seen enough. Her brutality was savage, but the raw power behind it… it was strong, but not stronger than him. The deaths of his men had bought him that assessment.
Swish!
He moved, a green streak aiming to end Aira with a single, decisive strike from behind.
But as he moved, so did she. She'd been aware of him the entire time. His blow met only air as she fluidly evaded.
"Not so fast," Aira's cold voice cut through the din. Her figure flickered—once, twice—a ghost among the remaining few pirates. In the next instant, they too were reduced to ruin, the final screams cut short.
"Now," she said, turning her full, cold-blooded gaze on Simoreka, a fierce light of challenge igniting in her eyes. "It's your turn."
In her perception, this spiky-haired green creature was stronger than her—his battle power around 700,000 to her 600,000—but the gap wasn't insurmountable. It was a fight she could take.
Rhode, observing Simoreka's entry into the fray, merely glanced over. He felt no concern. Aira had spent a subjective year in the Time Chamber, tempering not just her power but her combat IQ against his own relentless pressure. A difference of 100,000 wouldn't be enough to decide this easily. He turned his attention elsewhere, his gaze settling meaningfully on the mountainous, still-eating figure of Yunba. That one was the real variable.
As a veteran universe pirate, Simoreka's combat experience was vast, forged in countless planetary raids. But Aira was a Saiyan, a born warrior, and now one who had systematically honed her power through disciplined cultivation. A 100,000-power gap in this context was negligible.
The clash was immediate and brutal.
BANG!
Fist met fist. The shockwave pulsed outwards, vibrating the very air. The mutilated remains of the fallen pirates were swept away like leaves in a hurricane, scattering into the distant, rolling hills.
Simoreka had no attention to spare for his late crew. The moment their blows connected, his confidence shattered. This woman's power wasn't just strong—it was refined, each movement efficient and lethal. He'd underestimated her.
No more probing. Both combatants erupted with their full auras. The grassy plain became a warzone as they blurred across it, the concussive BOOMs and CRACKs of their collisions a continuous, deafening drumroll.
As Aira fought, Rhode's analytical gaze swept over the others. His eyes settled on the three slinking, rat-faced individuals trying to edge away from the chaos. Their auras were familiar—the ones who'd ambushed his ship. Their faces matched vague memories: the "Ma" something brothers, minor-league pirates known for being captured by the Galactic Patrol and later causing trouble on Earth.
And that one… Rhode's attention shifted to the mountain of fur and fat still staring him down while shoveling food into his mouth. The bear-headed glutton. Combined with the green-haired midget fighting Aira… the pieces clicked.
The Saganbo Pirate Gang.
The name brought a flicker of real concern. And behind that name loomed a far more formidable shadow: Zarbon. A being of immense, planet-busting power and ruthlessness. This wasn't just a random pirate raid anymore. The stakes had just been raised significantly.
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